North Korean Cash in Swiss Banks

Swiss banks have long been known for secrecy. Yet activists have recently called on the Swiss government to take fresh steps to freeze North Korean funds held by Swiss banks in view of the Hermit Kingdom’s “gross, systematic and widespread violations of human rights,” as 20 North Korean defectors—including escapees from the notorious Camp 15 gulag—wrote in a letter to Swiss President Didier Burkhalter.

The open letter was sent in September under the auspices of U.N. Watch, a Geneva-based civil-society group. Mr. Burkhalter’s...